This article considers the development of an ongoing team-based project to incorporate a game into an online American National Government class. We start by suggesting that play, and the games that provide for play to occur, is the most natural way for individuals to learn. Technologies offered by online education provide the opportunity to…

As colleges and universities push to offer more online offerings, particularly during this current pandemic, concerns about upholding standards of excellence surface. As a result, programs like Quality Matters (QM) have flourished in an attempt to make courses not only easily accessible, but also tied to learning outcomes. This paper takes a look…

We harnessed a large-scale randomized controlled trial to investigate if and how experienced Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science and U.S. Government treatment teachers would shift their practice towards the Knowledge in Action project-based learning (PBL) approach. In any instructional context, shifting to project-based learning can be…

This paper reviews technology usage in four different methods of teaching U.S. government. The paper reviews effective technology with traditional synchronous lecture; reviews teaching U.S. government using a smart classroom with live Internet feeds; explores full video capability and use of PowerPoint software; examines Web-enhanced U.S.…

This paper presents an innovative way to teach Introduction to Political Science by breaking with the convention of teaching a survey course of all political science subfields. Each student is invited to be a participant-observer and apply political science perspectives to the data collected from his/her personal polity. Readings, research, and…

Presents an activity for high school government or U.S. history classes on President Johnson's attitudes toward education. Students analyze and discuss four primary source documents--a speech, memos, presidential remarks on the signing of education amendments, and a political cartoon. They write a paragraph on Johnson's role in education. (AM)

Political science departments in community colleges have the opportunity to demonstrate the validity of liberal arts courses by helping students become aware of both the forces shaping their lives and their options in public and private decision-making. The first problem the political science instructor faces is materials selection. Although an…

In overcoming the physical limitations of a single campus, distance education promises to diversify the student population, exposing students to a wider array of experiences and backgrounds. This paper reports how adequately distance education technology fulfilled that promise in a joint seminar in American politics that included students at the…

Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy involving students in small group learning activities that promote positive interaction. Research studies have consistently found that cooperative learning promotes increased academic achievement and involves relative use of implementation and reasonable costs. Improved behavior, increased positive…

To preserve and protect the civic values and principles of the Constitution, educators must develop in students a deeper understanding of and a commitment to these values. To do this, educators should confront students with cases in history and current events involving fundamental paradoxes of U.S. constitutional government. Students should be…

The founding fathers of the United States were products of a classical education, and they used the Greek and Roman classics as republican models and classical virtues. In their writings, the founders frequently associated liberty and republicanism with the ancient commonwealths. John Adams spoke on three separate occasions of the need to reflect…

There has been a renaissance of scholarship during the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. Continued implementation of the Constitution requires that its text, its structure, and its principles be widely known and respectfully understood. U.S. citizens need to respect the Constitution as it was understood by those who framed it. Underlying the…

New courses and programs are needed to prepare students for an interdependent world. Courses and programs in global education should be designed around four intellectual dimensions: (1) presenting substantive information from different cultural, ideological, historical, and gender perspectives; (2) exploring the values, attitudes, and positions…

This paper describes an uncommon approach to service learning. The students in a class at California State University Los Angeles are placed with experts of the political advocacy process, not with charitable nonprofits. Making use of a variety of organizations located in the greater Los Angeles region, the course offers students the opportunity…

"The Federalist Papers," a collection of 85 essays on the principles of republican government written to support the ratification of the Constitution of 1787, has been praised as an outstanding work by individuals ranging from such founding fathers as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to contemporary scholars in history and…